Whatever happened to hats?

After being treated for skin cancer I was told I should wear a sunhat and that Accessorise were having a sale.
I tried on lots of hats which were all too small. I asked if they had any larger ones but was told they only come in one size!

Imagine being told shoes all come in the one size. 😂

I went to an outdoor shop where there were hats in different sizes and I dutifully wear my hat.
In winter I wear a tweed hat which was handmade not by me and I love it. I hope it will see me out.

Milliners there used to be quite a few in Liverpool years ago in wealthy areas. I often went to one close to where I worked to buy hat pins. Now forty years later I have one still in my sewing box. I was in a uniformed job and wore a hat even though I hated it I tolerated it.
I don't like hats as they flatten the hair which is not a good look!
People years ago would wear hats that distinguished their class. A concept that is totally irrelevant these days.

Unless you are Queen 😄😄😄

Both formal and everyday headwear seemed to get swept aside in the Swinging Sixties. After that it was either yukky baseball caps - seemingly worn by people who probably have never played baseball/rounders, if their 'chunky' shape is anything to go by - or silk top hats at Ascot. And, of course, those creations that women wear at Ascot on Ladies Day.

I assume we are not classifying those dreadful American baseball/truckers caps as hats? The sight of Mr Trump (he doesn't display the dignity to qualify as 'President') with one of his silly MAGA caps jammed over his candy floss hair extensions makes my point.

Hats are a must in our sunny Australian climate.

This summer in particular I have seen lots of women my age wearing hats going to the shops or when they are out for their daily walk.

The hat I wear depends on the wind, if its too windy it must be adjustable, I don't like chin straps lol.

It’s a good job both Camilla and Catherine look great in a hat.

Hats were my darling Nana’s passion and she wouldn’t have dreamt of going out without one.

Personally I look frightful in any type of hat and have not worn one since we were forced to wear them as part of our school uniform - awful navy felt ‘pudding basins’ in winter and Panama hats in summer.

My DD2 can wear any hat, even silly ones, and looks stunning!

Me too Bellasnana. It has to be really really cold for me to wear a pullon knitted hat and even that looks silly on me.
I was once with a friend in a craft type place in an NT water mill. A woman had a lovely stand with beautiful hats. Thee owner tried to persuade me to try one on. I said I just cant wear hats. She replied Nonsense of course everyone can. She eventually had to agree I was right.

I ve never worn a hat in my life, since school, as I just don’t like them and I m sure they don’t like me.
I ve never even worn one to a wedding or funeral and have no intention of ever doing so
If it’s cold I ll pull a hood on but hats NO
Bellasnana we were the same at school either velour bowler type or berets in winter and summer panama hat ohhhh yuk, yuk, yuk enough to put you off for ever

I’m not a hat wearer and loathed having to wear one as part of school uniform in my teens.

My paternal grandmother wouldn’t leave the house without a hat to match her crimplene costume. She worked in a millinery shop.

As a small child in the 1950’s I was fascinated by her box of large hat pins and watched her pinning her hat without flinching. I thought the hat pin was for sticking into her scalp 😆

Apart from the beret and the formal headwear that was part of my Army uniform I have always fought against wearing a hat. The ladies I worked alongside in my office were scandalised when I said I would not be wearing one for my registry office wedding.

I did have a yen a few years ago for a fedora and, on a whim, bought myself a lovely blue one. I have yet to wear it!! DH said all I needed was a machine gun in a violin case and I would look like Al Capone. It sits in the top of my wardrobe.
These days, a Tilley hat to keep the sun off my head and out of my eyes is the only concession I make to headwear.

I wore a hat yesterday. I went to Ladies Day at the Cheltenham Festival and there were hats adorning heads everywhere. I wore a big fur one which covered my hair, kept it tidy and me warm and IMO was flattering and fun. There were several hat shops in the shopping village selling fabulous creations, feathers and fur are very much in fashion but they never really went out of fashion. I love the opportunity to wear a hat but it's got to be the right proportion for the outfit and face.

I like wearing a hat, woolly bobble hats, waxed fedora ( with the gathered pheasant feathers), panamas for the sun and fancy ones for weddings.

It's so interesting to see old photos or footage where the hats reveal social strata.
It wasn't that long ago.

I remember my Mum always wore a hat to Church and a headscarf the rest of the time.

HelterSkelter1

Me too Bellasnana. It has to be really really cold for me to wear a pullon knitted hat and even that looks silly on me.
I was once with a friend in a craft type place in an NT water mill. A woman had a lovely stand with beautiful hats. Thee owner tried to persuade me to try one on. I said I just cant wear hats. She replied Nonsense of course everyone can. She eventually had to agree I was right.

😂

I like hats but nothing formal.Sun hats in hot weather and a beanie type one in Winter plus a few (what Mum calls) John Lennon hats in fake fur, or felt or corduroy.

Philip Larkin ‘ old time fools in coats and hats’ bit harsh but every old photo my family has shows people muffled up in greatcoats and hats/caps.
Just different times is all.

I remember my mum stating how she hated wearing hats but back in the day, it was expected at weddings at the very least. Photos and film footage of historical events and news does depict many wearing hats, men and women.

These days it seems to be baseball caps……..and I detest those.

Last time I wore a hat was in the 1960s unless you count a beanie type had pulled well down over my ears for cold days on the canals in Venice.

My mum wore a hat outside even to hang the washing out. Hats for church were obligatory when I was a child.

The only time I have worn a hat as an adult has been to my children’s weddings. Plus a woolly hat in wintry weather but it messes your hair up, so I don’t wear it if I am going somewhere where I need to take it off.
But everyone used to wear them in the first half of the twentieth century.

Our elderly neighbour across the road used to wear a hat and lift it to say good morning. I have just had that memory pop up in my mind. He must have been 80+ and it was 30 years ago.
And I can now see my Dad doing the same in the 50s and 60s. What a gentle time.

I remember my late grandma going on a plane for the first time. 1969.
She wore a lovely pink hat with matching shoes and bag. Her dress and coat
were in pink and blue. She was 79. The pilot shook her hand and told her she
was the eldest person on board. There was a photo taken of grandma, pilot and
all the stewards. Which took pride of place on the mantle piece.
She told mum that she felt like a queen.
She lived till 103.

Myschool hat was an abomination. A fabric 'pork pie' no brim with a fringe on one side and woe betide anyone who wore the fringe on the wrong side. They were stuffed into your school bag as soon as you were away from the school gates.
I too don't suit hats. I have worn glasses most of my life and somehow hats just seem to be too much 'head furniture'
I did pull off a cream trilby for my daughters wedding but it was never worn again.

American men wear baseball caps far too much. Even indoors. I find that quite disgusting.

I always think of James Stewart taking off his hat and standing there holding it awkwardly when he came in. (Can't remember what film that was, or if I'm just imagining it)

It was a natural reflex in those days for men to take off their hats indoors, which they almost a!says seemed to wear.

I've never worn a hat for a wedding or for church (except Sunday school when I was about 6). Here in Germany it's just not a thing.

And as for boaters. Whoever said upthread that they didn't fit - I'm not surprised - they are square inside!!!! We had them as our sixth form uniform. Tried to throw them frisbee-style but they hurt if you got hit as they had such sharp edges!

Hats are now, thankfully, utilitarian garments we wear for practical reasons.: sun hats, warm woolly hats in winter - and that is just about it.

My father hated wearing hats and in an age when men always wore hats, he never did, despite everything my mother did. I am like my father, I hate hats. I have a small head and fine hair so unless tied down they slide off. The sun needs to be very bright or the weather exceptionally cold before I cover my head.